Following an open audition talent search in June, 18 men and women aged between 16 – 65 from the city and across the region, will perform alongside the previously announced principal cast. The cast and creative team will be supported by a team of associate creatives, Nyasha Gudo (Associate Director), Melody Sinclair (Associate Choreographer) and Aron Sood (Associate Musical Director), and Naomi Thompson (Associate Costume Designer), all of whom are based in the West Midlands.
When asked what drew them to audition, responses included:
Keilah, 23, from Handsworth: “I wanted to challenge myself and pursue my passion of singing in areas I haven’t before. I want to break the barriers and encourage those that are afraid to step out of other peoples’ expectations of themselves and let their light shine.”
Nancy, 25, from Rubery: “Thought it was a fantastic opportunity to connect with others in Birmingham as well as take part in a such a diverse show.”
Robert, 64, from Sandwell: “I have been regularly engaged in story telling driven by music for a number of years now and relished the thought of being part of such an important production charting as it does how a significant shift in British life and so its self-understanding was arrived at.”
To The Streets! special concert performances will take place between 19 – 28 August at Handsworth Park in Birmingham, Windmill Hill, Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, and West Park, Wolverhampton, as part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival. Ahead of the concert performances, which will be family friendly and accessible to all, audience members will be invited to enjoy food, drink, DJ sets, plus music and entertainment from local arts organisations.
Christopher Haydon said, “To The Streets! is a story of popular protest and the need for people from all walks of life to take action. So, it is thrilling to be working with such an enormously talented community ensemble who will perfectly embody that collective spirit.”
Dannielle ‘Rhimes’ Lecointe said, “This show is about the greatness of community coming together, and so it’s exciting to be breathing life into the Bristol Bus Boycott with a fantastic community cast.”
To the Streets! is based on an original idea and directed by Christopher Haydon, with book by Roy Williams, music and lyrics by Tim Sutton, design by Soutra Gilmour, lighting design by Arnim Friess, sound design by Gareth Fry, video design by Duncan McLean, and with choreography from Dannielle ‘Rhimes’ Lecointe. Ian Oakley is Musical Director, Pearson Casting are casting directors, and the show is produced in association with Warwick Arts Centre, City of Wolverhampton Council and DRPG Creative.
Tickets for To The Streets! are on sale now and can be booked at www.tothestreets.co.uk
ENDS
Wednesday 27 July 2022
For press enquiries contact:
Emma Ryan, Head of Communications, Birmingham Hippodrome
emmaryan@birminghamhippodrome.com
07563 382243
NOTES TO EDITORS:
To The Streets! Performance listings:
Handsworth Park, Birmingham: Fri 19 Aug 1.45pm & 7.45pm Sat 20 Aug 1.45pm & 7.45pm
Windmill Hill, Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry: Wed 24 Aug 7.45pm Thu 25 Aug 7.45pm
West Park, Wolverhampton Sun 28 Aug 1.45pm & 7.45pm
Doors open at 12 noon and 6pm with pre-performances at 12.30pm and 6.30pm.
The principal cast of To The Streets! includes; Michael Ahomka-Lindsay (The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – UK tour, Legally Blonde – Regent’s Park) will play ‘Paul’, Jonathan André (The Lion King – West End, The Wiz – Hope Mill Theatre) will play ‘Roy’, McCallam Connell (The Playboy of the West Indies – Birmingham Rep, Small Island – National Theatre) will play ‘Des’, Paul Kemble (School of Rock – UK tour, Made in Dagenham – West End) will play ‘Bert’, Duane Lamonte O’Garro (Motown the Musical – West End, The Lion King – West End) will play ‘Guy’, Jessie May (Mamma Mia! – West End and international tour, Mame – Hope Mill Theatre) will play ‘Secretary’, Denise Pitter (Guys and Dolls – West End, To Kill a Mockingbird – Mercury Theatre, Colchester) will play ‘Pearl’, Charlotte St Croix (Hairspray – UK tour, Decade – National Theatre) will play ‘Lorraine’, and Andy Watkins (Kinky Boots – UK tour, Breakfast at Tiffany’s – Curve, UK tour and West End) will play ‘Harry’.
To The Streets! is presented by Birmingham 2022 Festival. A China Plate & Birmingham Hippodrome production in association with Warwick Arts Centre, City of Wolverhampton Council and DRPG Creative. Generously supported by Arts Council England and The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, Birmingham City Council and Blueprint: Without Walls R&D Investment Fund.
ABOUT BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME
As a proud, independent charity, Birmingham Hippodrome is on a mission to enrich the cultural life of the region. Our vision is clear; we are creating a world-class cultural scene for our region with Birmingham Hippodrome firmly centre stage. As the cultural beating heart of the city, the Hippodrome reaches over one million people a year through on and off-stage programmes of work, digital presence, and performances in Birmingham and beyond.
Long recognised as one of the UK’s premier presenting theatres, the past three years have seen Birmingham Hippodrome develop into a creative producing organisation focused on access, diversity and inclusion, doubling our impact to match our annual audience of 550,000 with a further 450,000 people engaged via festivals, learning, participation and produced work, including our 2019 youth musical West Side Story, our award-winning co-production with Curve The Color Purple, new musical co-production To The Streets! with China Plate and our forthcoming collaboration with Rambert on Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby.
With nine Associate Companies, the Hippodrome produces and commissions bold new work, telling fresh and engaging stories, reflecting the youth and diversity of the city and region. We have further enhanced our reputation as a leading provider for Festivals, engaging over 150,000 people through B-Side Hip Hop Festival, co-producing the city’s Chinese New Year celebrations, and a monthly cultural programme in Bullring Grand Central, Birmingham’s flagship retail centre.
Our Hippodrome Education Network delivers creative activities in 29 partner schools every week - 26 of which are in the UK’s top 10% most deprived communities - with over 35,000 young people taking part over 120,000 times each year.
We are also the largest dance campus outside London, home to Birmingham Royal Ballet (led by Carlos Acosta), DanceXchange, Dance Consortium, OneDanceUK and digital agency The Space; recently developing a new partnership with Chaillot: Theatre National de la Danse (Paris) and being hailed as “a new capital for dance”.
To learn more and find out how you can support Birmingham Hippodrome visit: birminghamhippodrome.com
Facebook: Birmingham Hippodrome
Twitter: @brumhippodrome
Instagram: @brumhippodrome
LinkedIn: Birmingham Hippodrome
YouTube: Birmingham Hippodrome
ABOUT CHINA PLATE
Established in 2006, China Plate is an independent producer of contemporary theatre that engages around 35,000 live audience members annually. The company’s central mission is to ‘challenge the way performance is made, who it’s made by and who gets to experience it.’ China Plate is currently making work with Caroline Horton, Inspector Sands, David Edgar, Chris Thorpe, Rachel Chavkin, Rachel Bagshaw, Urielle Klein-Mekongo, Roy Williams, Chris Haydon and Tim Sutton. They are Resident Producers at Warwick Arts Centre and partners in Derby CAN, Derby Theatre’s Arts Council England Producing Hub.
Facebook: chinaplatetheatre
Twitter: @YourOldChina
Instagram: @china_plate_theatre
About the Birmingham 2022 Festival
The Birmingham 2022 Festival unites people from around the Commonwealth through a celebration of creativity, in a six-month long programme, shining a spotlight on the West Midland’s culture sector.
Running from March to beyond the conclusion of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games in September, the festival aims to entertain and engage over 2.5 million people in person and online.
Delivering over 200 projects across the region including art, photography, dance, theatre, digital art and more the festival will embrace local culture and generate lasting change and a
creative legacy beyond the games with funding to community led projects from Birmingham City Council’s Creative City Grants scheme.
Major support has been dedicated by Arts Council England, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Birmingham City Council and Spirit of 2012. The Birmingham 2022 Festival is grateful for further support from British Council, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, National Lottery Community Fund, Canada Council for the Arts, the High Commission of Canada in the UK, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Create Central, Creative New Zealand, UK/Australia Season 2021/2022, and Birmingham 2022 Organising Committee.
To learn more, view the full programme of events or get involved visit: birmingham2022.com/festival.
ABOUT DRPG
DRPG is a global creative communications group. The group creates and delivers integrated communications solutions and experiences for an industry wide range of clients and brands, for both external and internal audiences worldwide.
ABOUT WARWICK ARTS CENTRE
One of the largest multi-artform venues in the UK, Warwick Arts Centre delivers a high quality, engaging, and diverse programme of performing and visual arts, concerts, films, festivals, education and learning activities, and special events - all presented in world-class venues and spaces.
Since opening in 1974, the venue - at the heart of Coventry's University of Warwick campus - has been a distinctive and special place, an important resource for both the arts and audiences in the region, as well as a significant force in national and international arts networks.
A recent transformation, the biggest in the arts centre's history, has seen the venue significantly expanded and upgraded, with a spacious new foyer, three state-of-the-art cinema screens, and a remodelled contemporary art space, The Mead Gallery.
ABOUT CITY OF WOLVERHAMPTON COUNCIL
City of Wolverhampton Council’s vision is for the city to be an excellent place to do business, work and live.
Our City:Our Plan was developed with the people of the City of Wolverhampton at its heart. The plan sets out an ambition that ‘Wulfrunians will live longer, healthier lives.’ Delivery of this ambition will be supported by six overarching priorities.
Supporting the six overarching priorities are three cross cutting principles: Climate conscious, driven by digital, and fair and equal.
This is an exciting time for our city, residents and businesses, with billions of pounds of investment either planned or on site across the city. Significant changes are happening to the city skyline, with a range of new developments and opportunities. We welcome you to join us on this journey.
The Leader of the City of Wolverhampton Council is Councillor Ian Brookfield.
The Chief Executive is Tim Johnson.
You can view the Our City:Our Plan at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/your-council/our-city-our-plan
For latest news and updates visit www.wolverhampton.gov.uk or follow us on Twitter (@WolvesCouncil), Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (Wolverhampton Today), and LinkedIn (City of Wolverhampton Council).
ABOUT WOLVERHAMPTON ART GALLERY
Wolverhampton Art Gallery was purpose built in 1883 to house the city's collections of fine and decorative arts. It has one of the UK's best regional holdings of modern and contemporary art, including the renowned Pop Art collection and art focusing on the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Another important area for collecting is that of the British Black Art movement that began in the city in the 1980s.
The Art Gallery is an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation and attracts around 150,000 visitors annually.
For further information please visit http://www.wolverhamptonart.org.uk/
